


What Goes Around

by Erisabesu (ErisabesuFic)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drama, M/M, NaruSasu - Freeform, Romance, SasuNaru - Freeform, sns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21785707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisabesuFic/pseuds/Erisabesu
Summary: “Naruto knows exactly what it means when Sasuke drops his pack and vaults over the waist high brick fence, then scrambles up onto crumbling, rusted steel beams.”  [2009.02.25]
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	What Goes Around

**“What Goes Around”**

♦

Naruto knows _exactly_ what it means when Sasuke drops his pack and vaults over the waist high brick fence, then scrambles up onto crumbling, rusted steel beams.

They have just come upon this ruined, mechanical monstrosity while detouring away from the main road and cutting through the haunted remains of an amusement park. The main structure of the Ferris wheel sags to one side from years of neglect, the enormous circles of it tilting at a thirty-five degree angle and balancing, precarious, like a slice of citrus fruit clinging to a spilled cocktail glass.

Naruto drops his pack only one second slower than Sasuke and sprints around to the other side and what he’s sure is a quicker way to the top. By some unspoken agreement they climb without jutsu or chakra, testing each other’s ingenuity as well as strength, having to shimmy up one pole and stretch fingertips far enough to grab onto a crossbeam while hoping that time and erosion haven’t weakened the metal so much it’ll collapse under a man’s weight.

Halfway up there is a metallic groan that chills their guts—but neither stops. The race is on, the challenge perpetual, even when the mass lurches and tilts another five degrees towards earth, empty seats swinging back and forth on hinges that squeal with the ghosts of terrified and desperate kids.

Naruto disregards the sweat droplets on his forehead and the back of his neck, disregards the feel of cool air against his moist skin and forces his knees and ankles to hold tight to the rust and grit while he hoists himself ever upward. In his peripheral vision, he sees Sasuke spring and latch onto a diagonal bar, swinging fist over fist in rapid ascent with his legs dangling in the air over a three-story drop. Naruto keeps track of his location and heaves forward, jaw clenched, urging his full-grown body to remember the monkey-like agility and fearlessness that comprised his boyhood, not really so long ago.

In the bottom of his pack far down below on the ground lies their mission scroll, buried under weapons, clothing and snacks and relegated to the dustiest, most inconsequential corner of his mind. But he couldn’t possibly focus on duty or responsibility when the night air is this languid and sultry, not a soul for miles save for the two of them out here on this broken skeleton chasing victory to its highest edge. Naruto’s blood runs hot, fierce, joyful in this game they never tire of playing.

The final sprint to the top is nerve-wracking, each footstep sending a jolt of vibrations rattling multiple warnings through the metal, the noise amplified by the vast and lonely midnight sky above. Naruto glances once at Sasuke running along an upward curve to intercept him before he narrows his awareness only to that highest arch directly between them. He grits his teeth and _lunges_ , arms v-shaped behind him for whatever balance he can manage to keep at this speed.

It’s so friggin’ _close_ –just like always—Sasuke’s foot just the tiniest bit quicker to land on the finish line.

Naruto doesn’t think about anything but winning until it’s clear he better do something or they’ll collide. But he’s already got so much momentum, the choices are few—and then Sasuke hooks his foot and knocks him off balance while sliding an arm under his shoulder. In turn, Naruto grabs onto his waist and pivots their combined weight in a quick spiral with his other shoe so they can both land, feet apart, knees bent, breath panting hot in their throats.

For a moment there’s only the meeting of eyes and the beating of hearts, and then the Ferris wheel creaks from the strain and jolts them another few degrees lower. Their hands fly out, ready to grab onto something if the thing gives out and collapses in a heap. But nothing more happens in the next ten seconds and so they breathe a little easier.

Naruto shifts closer to the wheel’s outer edge and sits, resting his feet on a low pipe near one of the broken, sideways two-person seats. He looks out over the deserted theme park, nestled within a deserted coastal town and whistles at the starlit view.

Sasuke takes the spot nearest him, one knee bent in an offhand, casual posture.

Naruto makes a sweeping gesture. “Makes you wonder what happened, huh? No one’s been here for over a decade. Maybe even longer.”

Sasuke shrugs. “Things change.”

Naruto turns sharply to read Sasuke’s expression, but his face is calm for the moment; not angry, not bitter. Naruto debates several possible moves before leaning so their shoulders can touch. When Sasuke doesn’t move away he curls his fingers around the beam they’re sitting on, his hand by Sasuke’s, their knuckles aligned.

They’ve been a month together on the road, taking the long way—the longest way possible—to their ordered destination; stolen time, stolen freedom, a stolen chance to heal.

“Yeah. Things change.” Naruto smiles, then realizes how his voice just sounded and quickly looks back out at the view ahead, tilting his head in what he imagines as cool and aloof. Suave.

Beside him Sasuke chuckles, that soft, maddening noise that means he’s being teased. Naruto’s cheeks grow red hot, and he can’t quite keep himself from fidgeting.

“Makes you wonder how many people rode this thing, back in the day.”

Naruto nods. “I’d say at least a million.”

“Makes you wonder how many of those people were on _dates_.”

Naruto grins, “Well duh, everyone knows what you do at the top of a Ferris wh—” He freezes, turning his head back to Sasuke. Their current location is painfully obvious.

Sasuke _smirks_.

Naruto rolls his eyes and jabs Sasuke in the ribs, his face and neck inflamed. “Asshole.”

Sasuke catches his arm, holding him steady while he leans in. Naruto closes his eyes, feels Sasuke’s nose and lips brush up the side of his neck to his ear, and back down again. Then those lips press into his skin. Warm. _Good_. Sasuke’s fingers grab onto his shirt sleeve and pull it down, exposing more of him to the night air. Naruto’s mouth opens in a sigh, feeling Sasuke’s lips move across the dips and curves of his collarbone and muscles, and then Sasuke bites into the rounded meat of his shoulder, one solid nip.

“ _Hey_ ,” Naruto warns, with a small jerk of his arm.

Sasuke withdraws, slowly, the smirk on his mouth satisfied as well as smug. As he stands he cards his fingers through the messy hair on the back of Naruto’s head. “Let’s go.”

Naruto stands up in time to see Sasuke step backward into nothingness and fall through the gaps of the crossbeams, angling his body to fit through the irregularly aligned holes. He breaks the speed of his fall by catching onto supports and flipping back around, as if the spiral of deteriorating metal is the same thick labyrinth of tree branches as back home.

Naruto watches it all in admiration, right up until Sasuke’s perfect dismount. He may not do things quite so gracefully, but unafraid, Naruto _jumps_.

—

Ω


End file.
